Main Street in Motion fundraising to begin

The Columbus Main Street Board of Directors is planning Main Street in Motion, a fundraising campaign that will take place in September.

Funds received from this fundraiser will serve to further the Columbus Main Street mission to enhance local culture and quality of life through planning growth, diversification and preservation of the downtown historic district.

Jay Jordan, a member of the Columbus Main Street Board of Directors, is spearheading this effort. Individuals or businesses can donate to Columbus Main Street at various levels, and may be deemed a Donor, Mover, Shaker or Playmaker. All contributions are tax deductible.

Columbus Main Street combines organization, promotion, design and economic restructuring to bring new businesses and development to Historic Downtown Columbus. Main Street has been instrumental in the high standards set regarding historic preservation in Columbus and was involved in the development of the Historic

Preservation ordinance and design guidelines for the historic district that are used today.

"We are extremely proud of our Columbus Main Street," said Barbara Bigelow, executive director of Columbus Main Street. "We have an excellent reputation throughout the state and the nation, apparent by our numerous awards and recognitions. This fundraiser will raise awareness of the many valuable contributions Columbus Main Street has made and will continue to make to our community. There is much we want to do and funds raised through our Main Street in Motion campaign will help us to reach many of our expectations."

Several goals are in place to insure that Columbus Main Street continues to be a valuable asset for our community. Some of these include reinstating the facade grant program, expanding boundaries of downtown, developing a recruitment and retention plan for downtown business, introducing signage at the Soccer Complex to encourage visitors to our downtown area, updating the shopping and services guide, developing a new brochure that can be made available to residents and visitors and updating our current program to make details more easily available to those interested in purchasing or renting in our downtown area.

"Since 1985, when Main Street Columbus, was formed 827 new jobs have been created, there have been $15,377,513 public dollars invested and $36,601,425 private dollars invested in our downtown area. I believe this speaks to the hard work that has been devoted to Main Street and the quality of our downtown area. Additional funding will help us to further enhance all that we offer to our community," says John Brady, President of the Board of Directors of Columbus Main Street.

More information on the Main Street in Motion campaign can be obtained by calling the Columbus Main Street office at 662-328-6305 on checking online at columbusmainstreet.com.